


Reap What I Sow

by Shaw



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fuck-It, Gen, I won't mind I guess, Like a Fix-It but I make everything WORSE, Mild Blood, Monsters, Non-Graphic Violence, Post-Canon, You can read this as VanVen if you really want to
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-04 06:17:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17893094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaw/pseuds/Shaw
Summary: Ventus told himself he'd stop at nothing to get Vanitas back. He got what he wanted. Is he willing to live with the aftermath?





	1. Chapter 1

_**The roads to Oblivion are paved with good intentions.** _

He had just needed Vanitas to have a proper chance. Just needed to balm the pain left behind by the lingering thought that he could have, should have done more. Vanitas was still there. Not there how he should have been, and not even there in a way that made total sense, but if he still at least _existed_ still then there was a way to bring him back. 

 

Bring him back, Ventus did. 

 

The shadows had coalesced, the darkness of the room becoming heavy and solid as it crept from the corners of the room and beneath Ventus’ feet. It had converged in the middle of the room and sat there like a tear in reality, like someone had just come along and ripped a hole in the fabric of the realm and left a gaping crevice straight to Nothingness. Ventus had been excited, blinded in the fact that this surely meant that what he was doing was working. It wasn’t until a hand erupted from it that something dropped into his stomach like a leadened weight. 

 

It… didn’t look quite right. The fingers were a little too long, and the skin not quite like skin. As the knuckles slowly flexed and dug nails into the marble tiled floor, another joined it. Ventus took a tentative step forwards. 

 

“Come on,” Ventus urged, voice hoarse. “It’s okay. I’m here.” 

 

The hands seemed to respond in turn, inching further out of the primordial darkness they were coming from. Grotesque forearms followed, muscular but lacking any buffer of humanity. Like something mummified, wrapped so tightly in its own skin as to look painful. It kept coming. Ventus shoved down the creeping disgust as he wondered when he might actually see torso. 

 

It was just as that thought was crossing his mind that it reared its head. 

 

The thing gasped like it was breaching the surface of a great ocean, like this was its first time breathing air and it feared it would be the last. Ventus’ mind had admittedly blanked initially, unsure of what it was looking at. Perhaps it was trying to make sense of the sheer amount of _teeth_ he was seeing. 

 

With its first breath of air the creature started to struggle. It began to rip at, tear at the marble floors, easily shredding its claws through the stone as it frantically began to pull itself free of its confinement. Ventus was not above the terror that struck him as he fumbled quickly backwards in an attempt to escape the sight. 

 

It was nothing like anything he’d seen before. Not like the Heartless, not like the Unversed, and not even anything like the lesser Nobodies he’d only briefly faced. Ventus watched as the darkness retreated back to its proper place, having finished its job of depositing what was _supposed_ to be Vanitas into the middle of the room. The thing was all limbs, squatted awkwardly on all fours with its chest and stomach pressed to the ground. 

 

“...” Silence sat heavy as Ventus just stared and contemplated what he had just brought into the room with him. Odd, bulging, red eyes seemed to regard the ground with no clear indication of sentience or understanding. He couldn’t even make out a nose, Ventus mused in slight delirium. Swallowing tightly, he forced himself to take a step forward to the thing. It’s head suddenly jerked, neck craning in a way it shouldn’t have been physically able to, and Ventus found himself fixed in its unnerving gaze. 

 

“Vanitas?” The response he got was a piercingly shrill scream. Something like nails on a chalkboard crossed with the grind of metal on metal. It rattled out of the creature at a volume that shouldn’t have been possible and Ventus wasn’t sure if the sound ever stopped. His ears were left ringing as he stumbled away with a groan of fear. 

 

When he next raised his eyes, Ventus was met with the sight of the thing-- no, of _Vanitas_ scuttling up the wall. Several paintings were knocked off as he made his way first from the floor to the wall, then to the ceiling. There was several split seconds of raw relief when Ventus watched ~~it~~ him fall to the ground accompanied with the sound of snapping bone and cartilage. It was quickly chased by guilt as the mess of limbs twitched pitifully. He shifted foward despite himself. 

 

“Vanitas…” Before Ventus could even finish the thought he found himself watching with disgusted fascination as the thing before him picked itself back up, joints snapping into place easily and structure righting itself. It then pulled back its head and slammed it into the tile viciously, accompanied with the sickening noise of bone caving in on itself. Ventus snapped into action at last.

 

“Stop! Stop it! Vanitas!” He put his hands on it before his rational mind could tell him not to and was immediately revolted. Vanitas, or what Ventus was now pretty sure was actually Vanitas, was uncomfortably warm and smooth in a way that tricked the brain into thinking ‘slimey’. That was without the sudden overwhelming smell that dawned on Ventus now that he was close enough to touch him. 

 

Talon-like fingers ripped straight through Ventus’ clothes and sank into his skin as Vanitas clawed in a desperate fashion. At first he thought Vanitas was pushing him away until his face was brought flush against the ridged surface of the other’s chest. The stench of blood made Ventus’ eyelids flutter and instinctively he shoved away. 

 

The cry Vanitas let out as he was pushed away would have been heartbreaking were it not for the fact Ventus was warring against his basic human instincts at the moment. Huffing shallowly through his mouth, Ventus sat prone in confusion as he tried to focus. Vanitas had grabbed him again and was pulling him, pulling him-- _shit, he was pulling him apart_. 

 

“No!” It was the most he could possibly say with Vanitas’ now knife-like fingers two knuckles deep in his flesh, tugging open holes in him that would definitely need more than a simple healing spell to fix. Vanitas didn’t seem to like the command, teeth unlatching from one another as he groaned pitifully and threw himself over Ventus, trapping him to the ground. 

 

Wayward Wind was in Ventus’ hand before anything further could happen, knocking Vanitas back with a hard strike to the sternum. He scuttled backwards with a throaty hiss. Ventus held the keyblade steady in front of himself protectively and scrambled to his feet. 

 

“I-- Vanitas, please don’t actually be-- _Please_.” Ventus watched as the creature before him sank its claws deep into its own skin, pulling from scalp to neck as it moaned lowly. The valleys it dug into itself shone bright red before knitting themselves closed. It then beat its hands against itself, falling into a seated position as it cried out in a way that sounded all too human for Ventus to continue contemplating killing it. Killing _him_. 

 

Ventus watched Vanitas blankly. 

 

“What… What happened. This wasn’t…” Vanitas’ head swung towards him and he let loose another scream that made Ventus actually flinch, bringing his arms up as if somehow it could shield him from the sound. It was followed by more crying, although Ventus could no longer tell if it was him crying or Vanitas. 

 

“Please, please just-- Why do you-- I don’t get it!” Anger swelled up from under the fear and confusion. Vanitas merely groaned and reached out towards Ventus. He faltered at the sight. His presumed refusal to meet Vanitas halfway seemed to spur him on, making him clamor forward. Before Ventus could beat him back again, Vanitas had grabbed him by the wrist. The sound of the bones snapping alerted Ventus to the fact his wrist was broken before the sensation could set in. He was on the floor again before he could understand what was happening. Vanitas kept his arm pinned down to the ground, once more crowding himself over Ventus as if trying to cover him with himself. 

 

Groaning through his teeth as the pain set in, Ventus dug a sharp elbow between what he assumed were Vanitas’ ribs. He couldn’t really tell. There was simply too many of them. His torso was too long to really be sure. It seemed to do something though, as he shifted to avoid getting struck again without giving up his dominant position. Several more swift jabs forced Vanitas to give Ventus enough room to wiggle away. 

 

“Get a grip!” His voice warbled out of him shrilly, weaker than he’d meant it to be. Vanitas yowled again and threw himself against the ground uselessly. Ventus cradled his own wounds and watched passively as Vanitas writhed on the ground. The low, throaty sounds of something he could only describe as something like agony accompanied the display. 

 

“You’re hurting us.” Was what he finally settled on saying. Those blazing, unblinking eyes, turned on him again. Revulsion clenched at his stomach and rolled it up towards his throat. Vanitas merely panted and lie still, the spitting image of an injured animal too pained to fight. 

 

Despite the disgust curling around him, Ventus could still feel the hurt the idea invoked. Of Vanitas in pain, suffering further. Had he caused this? Had he done something wrong? Or was this simply the reward of playing with forces beyond his understanding, the grim participation prize that would be rewarded to the both of them. Vanitas reached out for him again, hand wobbling as if the mere exertion of holding his arm up was exhausting. Ventus made up his mind in that instant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You literally would never know that I love Vanitas given this is the first thing I decide to do with my power to write whatever I want. Somehow it seems what I wanted was to make Ventus life a whole lot harder and pour gasoline over Vanitas. 
> 
> Anyways I have NO idea what i'm doing right now other than messing around with an idea that I started writing at 2 AM! Comments appreciated in regards to whatever you liked or disliked. Can't promise I'll hold through on the multichapter state of this fic but it'll give me something to do while I contemplate other fic ideas...
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks, as always, for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a moment of reprieve.

The first order of business was making sure that no one would _ever_ find out what Ventus had done. Aqua and Terra knew Ventus had expressed interest in somehow bringing Vanitas back but they hadn’t been clued in to the actual progress he had made towards doing so. It would be painful to lie and sneak around his friend, nay, his family; It had to be done. Which definitely meant taking care of his ripped up clothing and bleeding wounds.

 

The only way to keep Vanitas complacent was through physical contact. It was unfortunate but Ventus had yet to find some other way to get him to stop _hurting_ himself. In the meager amount of time Ventus had left to go scrounge up some clothes to throw over him, Vanitas had not only managed to destroy an entire bookcase but had effectively disemboweled himself onto the floor. Everything he did, and was, only served to revolt Ventus further. It was too late to think about that though. Vanitas was here now. Something had to be done about it. 

 

The shirt that Ventus had snuck from Terra’s room hadn’t fit nearly well enough on Vanitas’ warped frame and thus the back-up was used. The back-up being an old dress that Aqua had since discarded now that she preferred to stay battle ready. It was jarring to look at since on Vanitas it looked more like a shirt than a dress. At least it left less of Vanitas’ skin to come into contact with Ventus. 

 

“Be quiet.” Ventus scolded. Vanitas kept making this weird clicking noise. With how he was practically draped over him, clutching tightly like some kind of demented koala, the noise ended up right in Ventus’ ear. 

 

The reek of gore that seemed to radiate off of Vanitas was not something he was getting used to at any rate. He’d have to shower threefold to keep suspicion low on why he smelled like a walking battlefield. There had been a brief moment where he’d considered bathing Vanitas instead but that would likely involve him having to scrub him down. He shivered at the thought. 

 

“You have to get off of me.” Immediately, Vanitas’ fingers curled and the threat of receiving several new stab wounds made Ventus immediately pry his hands off. Getting his hands off was the easy part, actually. It was getting Vanitas to unwrap his arms from around him that was slightly more difficult. 

 

After some struggling and maybe a little cursing the deed was done. Vanitas was off of him, curled up tightly on Ventus’ bedsheets. That made another thing that had to be washed. Running is hands over his face, Ventus took a deep breath. He stared at Vanitas through the gaps of his fingers while he contemplated what to do next. Privacy was not something he had to worry about so theoretically he could just keep Vanitas locked in here until he figured out how fix it. This. Him. 

 

“Do you even understand what I say to you?” He blurted. Vanitas peered out from under his own arm, teeth parted slightly as he panted. It was at least clear that he understood when he was being spoken to. 

 

“Is there any way you can respond?” He didn’t mean to sound irate. Vanitas merely moaned pitifully and curled into a tighter ball. Ventus’ mouth set in a firm line. He might need a moment alone. Or several moments. His head hurt and he’d give anything to get a breath of fresh air. He never realized how noxious blood could be in such large quantities and there wasn’t even any blood here. Just him and… 

 

“I’m going to be right back. Don’t destroy my room, please? If I come back and it’s a disaster or you’re… hurting yourself again. I’ll!...” He’ll what? “I’ll be really upset with you.” No response back. Ventus didn’t waste a second longer and quickly exited his room, the door slamming shut behind him in his haste. He took in a gulp of air. 

 

The trip to the kitchen ended up longer than Ventus had realized it would. Namely because he crossed paths with Aqua and Riku unexpectedly. He had walked right in, shoulder sagged and face screwed into a contemplative expression, only to nearly bump into Riku. 

 

“Oh-- Ven. Hi.” Normally Ventus would be all for checking in to see how Riku was doing, how his training with Aqua was going as they both honed their skills. Right now he just really hoped Riku wouldn’t be able to smell him. He pressed a smile onto his face and laughed airily. Aqua only needed a glance before her eyes narrowed. 

 

“Ventus, I didn’t realize you were inside still. I thought you’d have gone outside. It’s a lovely day.” 

 

“Yeah! Yeah, I was thinking about it. What brings you guys back?” Without being prompted, Aqua drew three glasses of water. Riku took his and went to sit down at the kitchenette, watching the two talk over the rim of his glass. 

 

“We were done for the day and had some things we still needed to talk about. So obviously I invited Riku over for lunch. Would you like to join us?” Ventus wouldn’t call the look Aqua was giving him suspicion. No, she trusted him too much for that. It was more alike to simple curiosity. It still was making his skin itch. The thought of Vanitas back in his room alone… He didn’t want to reject her offer, that was for sure. He’d love to sit down and have lunch and forget about Vanitas for a second. The selfishness of it made shame burn in his stomach. Really any appetite he could have had was long gone. 

 

“Well, if you guys are going to be talking about super important keyblade master stuff, I’m not sure if it’s my place to intrude.” He played it off in the lines of a joke, hoping that the jest would be refusal enough. Riku’s brow furrowed slightly. 

 

“You’re always welcome to join in our conversations, Ventus. Keyblade master or not, you’re still an experienced wielder and any insight you could offer to our observations would be--” Riku caught himself as he took in Aqua’s bemused expression and Ventus’ own slightly strained smile. His cheeks flushed a delicate pink as he coughed softly and busied his mouth with drinking his water. Aqua laughed gently and joined Riku at the table, patting his arm fondly. 

 

“Riku is right though. You shouldn’t feel like you can’t join us. That being said, don’t feel obligated to. Just be sure to eat something before you leave. Okay? I know you didn’t eat breakfast, mister.” She wasn’t wrong. He’d been too busy preparing. Taking the glass of water that Aqua had poured for him, Ventus quickly downed most of it and squeezed his eyes shut. 

 

“Thank you, both of you. I think I’ll let you guys be though. Where’s Terra though?” When he opened his eyes, Riku had shifted from busily drinking his water to staring at his hands. Aqua hummed thoughtfully. She was still watching Ventus like she was trying to figure something out but the nervousness had decreased. They hadn’t asked any incriminating questions yet. He was safe. 

 

“He mentioned something about going out to check on Kairi and Lea’s progress. He’s likely with them in Merlin’s grove.” Ventus nodded absently and grabbed a nectarine from the basket of fruit sitting on the kitchen counter top. Sensing his fading attention, Aqua turned to Riku and gave him a cheeky smile. 

 

Ventus left them then. He already knew he’d been gone too long but the fact the encounter with the two keyblade masters hadn’t been punctuated with screams and screeches was something to be thankful for. It also scared Ventus though. Vanitas hadn’t shut up since he dragged himself from the ether. Certainly Ventus telling him he’d be mad at him for tearing apart his room hadn’t caused him to go silent altogether? 

 

His heart skipped a beat when he pulled his bedroom door open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo hoo hoo! I actually wrote a second chapter! Confounding isn't it? Somehow I ended up writing this instead of the stuff I could have also written that would have made sense... Oh well. More of this confusing mess! Comments appreciated since I'm sort of fumbling around blindly with this odd idea. Thanks for continuing to read!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calmer, if it's anything. Much calmer than before.

Floods. Lots of them. Everywhere. _Great._

 

The Unversed had been blissfully absent thus far and why Ventus had just up and forgotten about them being a possibility was beyond him. Nonetheless he quickly slammed the teeth of his keyblade through ones torso without a second though. A soft groan came from under the bed; He was too focused on killing the Unversed as quickly as possible to quite frankly give a shit. 

 

Of course. Of course this should be the alternative to Vanitas destroying the room himself. Was this any better? 

 

Ventus wrist was still singing in echoes of pain from being snapped in two earlier. He’d cast a quick Cure on it but he was pretty sure it had healed wrong and would likely require actual medical attention to function properly. For now he used his keyblade brutishly as he kept his injured hand cradled close to his body. 

 

By the time he was done, Ventus was out of breath. The sound of distorted sobbing was only getting louder from under his bed and Ventus couldn’t help but kick the frame in his frustration. Vanitas hissed in displeasure and swiped one hand out at Ventus’ ankle. He avoided it luckily. He didn’t need _another_ broken joint. 

 

“Get out from under there! What are you even doing?” He would have stooped down to peer at Vanitas to try and coax him out but the sheer thought of doing that produced the terrifying image of him being dragged face first under the bed. He really, literally, had a monster under his bed. 

 

 _Not a monster. Just Vanitas._ His brain supplied. He scowled despite himself. 

 

“Out. Come on. I’m not going to get anything done if you’re crouching under there.” There was a long moment of nothing and Ventus was about to scold Vanitas again when he slowly started to come back out. 

 

Maybe it was the fact Ventus had just been talking to perfectly normal human beings. Maybe he’d just forgotten what exactly he was dealing with. Nonetheless watching Vanitas crawl out from under his bed, especially given the state he was currently in, was definitely going to be the fuel for any (and many) nightmare(s) Ventus may have in the near future. 

 

A long series of clicks, almost like a growl, was his reward as Vanitas pressed himself down against the ground. He’d already taken to curling his limbs under him as if he were trying to compact himself down. It didn’t do much but make him look like a big, fucked up bug. Ventus wished he had an equally big boot or rolled up newspaper. 

 

“Listen… We have to figure this out.” Vanitas had the part of his face that should have been his cheek pressed against the floor, one of his eyes appearing to be fixed on Ventus as he spoke. It was hard to tell with the lack of iris or pupils. 

 

“I… I don’t know what I did wrong. I’m sorry. This… This fucking sucks.” The curse fell from his lips with ease and managed to make him feel at least a bit better. Vanitas whined and shifted, causing the ridge of his spine to move through his skin. Ventus forced himself to _not_ look at that. 

 

“But we have to… not. Try to kill ourselves. And maybe avoid spawning fifty Unversed in my bedroom. I know that’s sort of involuntary but…” Vanitas actually clacked his teeth at Ventus for that, huffing. It was about that time that he realized that Vanitas was very, _very_ slowly moving closer to him. His stomach flipped and he felt faint for a moment. 

 

“There has to be some way to… help? I know you probably think I’ve already ‘helped’ enough but…” There was a heavy pause between them, Vanitas not even responding with a huff or puff as he stared at Ventus. Then reached out slowly. Ventus flinched involuntarily.

 

“I-- Don’t look at me like that. You… You’d do the same thing. If this was reversed.” He knew that was a bold lie. Vanitas didn’t call him on it though and merely tried again, clawing about as gently as possible at Ventus’ pant leg. He already knew how sharp those damn talons of his were and was amazed they didn’t immediately slice the fabric upon contact. Maybe that was for the best. Ventus would run out of clothes to wear at some point and _that_ would be hard to explain. 

 

Yeah, sorry Aqua! Just need to go on a shopping trip because the abomination I accidentally unleashed on this world has dependency issue and also glass for nails! Don’t sweat it, I’ll pay for it all! By the way, what’s for dinner? 

 

It wasn’t funny. Ventus was only making himself feel worse. 

 

“Have you… seen yourself yet?” Settling on his knees slowly, Ventus let Vanitas rest his hand on his thigh. The contact was warm and heavy and he knew that if he let it continue it would quickly become uncomfortable. 

 

When Vanitas shook his head, Ventus was finally given the last reason to accept that yes-- Vanitas was in there and apparently very aware of himself. Great. Now Ventus might have to stop imagining him getting squished by a comically large fly swatter. He cringed despite himself. _He really had to stop thinking these things._

 

“You probably don’t want to. No offense.” The sound Vanitas made in response was reminiscent of a disgruntled chicken. Ventus rolled his shoulders and suppressed a shudder as the fingers resting on his leg flexed. 

 

“Can you at least be useful and get my nectarine? I know you can reach it.” Pretending that everything was okay was a bandage on a bullet wound. But. It was helping Ventus cope with it to some degree. Vanitas seemed to consider Ventus with some degree of disdain before lifting his head. It was something akin to a periscoping snake. Ventus closed his eyes. 

 

He didn’t open them, even when he felt Vanitas nudging the fruit into his hand. He merely fumbled blindly until he got a grip on it and avoiding touching Vanitas’ hand too much. He quickly took a bite out of it and kept it pressed to his lips as he chewed. The sweet smell of the flesh of the fruit was just barely suppressing the warring stench of Vanitas at the moment. 

 

“I’ll figure this out… I’ll figure this out... “ If he muttered it enough to himself maybe it would come true. Vanitas’ whistling breathing kept a constant as Ventus ate down to the pit of the nectarine and proceeded to suck on it absently. Eventually he opened his eyes again. 

 

Vanitas had curled up into a different position on his side. He had three of his limbs pulled tightly again his body, the fourth being attached to the hand still resting on Ventus. Swallowing down the urge to vomit, Ventus gently placed his own hand over it. 

 

“We’ll figure it out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For your sake please do look up videos of periscoping snakes and disgruntled chickens. They're fun to watch. Especially the chickens since they get all puffy and stuff. Anyways! Thanks to everyone who has commented so far! It means a lot to have feedback, especially on weird fics like this. They're not everybody's cup of tea but if I don't write it who will, eh? Ahaaa! 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and don't forget to drop a comment if you have some time! Kudos appreciated and if you got any pals who'd be interested in this don't forget to share.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The king of rude awakenings.

Ventus slept fitfully. Restless as he had been since Waking Up, this night in particular was not a night he found sleep easily. It may or may not have had something to do with Vanitas staring at him from where he sat on the floor. His dreams were filled with strange shapes and glowing red lights and smoke and--

 

His eyes snapped open then, the grey filter of early morning sunshine painting his room in monotones. Skin sticky, mouth dry, and stomach turning. Ventus felt his throat seize closed as he registered what he was looking at. 

 

Vanitas was _right_ in front of him, face centimeters away from his own. His bulgeous eyes seemed to be luminate in the dim surroundings. They stared at one another as Ventus fought back the urge to scream. Eventually a strained, frightened whimper found its way out of him and he quickly yanked his tangled blanket over his head. 

 

He could _feel_ Vanitas standing up and crowding over him. It was panic inducing and suddenly Ventus felt like he was suffocating under his blankets. He threw them off quickly and sat up. 

 

“Get _away_ from me!” He hissed, slugging Vanitas straight in the chest. He quickly disengaged and went back to the floor, ducking down. 

 

“Don’t do that! You scared me! Have you been watching me sleep all night?!” Ventus shifted backwards as he saw Vanitas’ skin prickle up in a wave down his body, as if he was covered in pins or scales. A low hiss accompanied the motion as Vanitas jerked his head to and fro. 

 

“Shit, just-- Stop.” Running his hands over his face, Ventus let the pain of a headache thrum through his skull. He’d woken up too quickly. Vanitas continued to make noise, clicks and hisses and noises that there simply aren’t proper words for. Ventus wanted him to _shut up_. There was nothing he could do to stop him though, not really. Eventually he got out of bed, throwing his covers back and stomping over to his bookshelf. 

 

He practically flung the pad of paper at Vanitas, watching it nail him square in the eye. Vanitas took it like a champ if anything, barely giving so much as a screech of protest as he grasped his face and curled in on himself defensively. 

 

“Be quiet. Take this.” The pen bounced harmlessly off of the back of Vanitas’ skull and landed on the ground near him. Ventus sat himself heavily on his desk and stared daggers at Vanitas. His patience felt paper thin. He was unsure if it was the lack of sleep or the rude awakening that was causing him to be so caustic. Maybe both. 

 

“From now on, you write what you have to say. I’m sick of you growling and hissing at me.” Vanitas lifted his head, neck twisting as he peered at Ventus with clear disdain. He clicked his teeth thrice before carefully picking up the pen between two claws. It was clear just from how he had trouble handling the thing that writing would be a chore but it was something Ventus was willing to do. 

 

With odd, over calculated motions, Vanitas managed to grasp the pen and open the pad of paper. He crouched over it awkwardly, chest pressed into the ground and hips raised over his head. Ventus found he really didn’t like this but whatever helped him write he supposed. 

 

 _Not watch._ The words were shaky and trailed off the lines but were there nonetheless. Vanitas’ hurt eye was oozing a strange substance and had dripped onto the paper in several places. Ventus made sure not to touch it. 

 

“Then what were you doing?” He passed the pad back and Vanitas fumbled with it, dropped it, and proceeded to slap it and hiss before making an attempt to pick it up. 

 

 _No._ Breath in. Breath out. Don’t hit him. Don’t. Ventus felt the slightest bit aggravated that Vanitas had taken his sweet, sweet time to painstakingly write this out. He glared at him to get his point across before shaking his head. 

 

“You… are so difficult.” Vanitas groaned loudly and tossed the pad of paper away before scuttling under Ventus’ bed. Immediately Ventus jumped to his feet and ran to the bed, pounding his hands on the mattress. 

 

“No way! Get out from under there! Find some other place to hide!” Vanitas only screeched in reply, making the pain in Ventus’ head spike and disorientate him for a moment. He grit his teeth and pushed through it, grabbing his bed frame and lifting it up off the ground with a grunt. Vanitas practically screamed, shifting further under the bed and away from Ventus. The one time he doesn’t want to be near him and it’s to hide under the bed? Seriously. 

 

“Stop! Be quiet! You’re going to wake them up!” The bed was dropped back into place and Ventus did the unthinkable. He fell to his knees and kneeled to look under the bed. It was his luck that Vanitas did for a fact not grab him and drag him face first under the bed screaming. He merely hissed and crowded against the wall Ventus had his bed pushed up to. 

 

“What did I say about _hissing_ at me. Get out. Now!” It was like owning the world’s most horrifying, eldritch cat. Maybe it was better that Eraqus never let Ventus adopt one. If it was anything like this experience…

 

Vanitas begrudgingly started crawling out. Ventus restrained himself from showing clear physical disgust, including but not limited to gagging. His eye was still leaking… whatever it was leaking. Was it blood? Tears? Come to think of it he hadn’t seen Vanitas blink once so--

 

It was then he watched Vanitas’ tongue snake out from between his teeth and run over his injured eye, whisking away the fluid that was leaking before retreating back where it came from. Ventus had never wanted to set a living creature on fire before more than he did in that instant. He settled for gently grasping his own face and closing his eyes. 

 

He heard the scratch of pen on paper and simply let it happen. He needed just a moment to himself. 

 

When Ventus finally found the serenity and strength he needed to continue without losing it and running screaming into the forest, he opened his eyes. Vanitas nudged the pad to him. It simply had one word on it. 

 

Light. 

 

He cast a glance to the window where it was slowly getting brighter and brighter. The shadows of the room were being dispelled from where they sat, beaten back as the rising sun outside crept higher into the sky. 

 

“The… light.” He started. Vanitas stared at him in a way almost expectant. Ventus dropped the paper and turned away, pacing to the window. The blinds dropped and screwed shut tightly and the curtains yanked closed. The room was immediately dark again.

 

That Vanitas would be so desperate to get as close to Ventus’ heart of light but be physically repulsed by literal sunshine. It wrangled a deranged laugh out of him. He quickly put a stopper on his laughter, fearful that if he continued he wouldn’t be able to stop. 

 

“There. Now you don’t have any excuse. Only go under there if you absolutely _have to_. Got it?” Vanitas didn’t answer but also didn’t retreat under the bed, just settled into his usual crouched position and pulled his limbs against his body. That would have to do for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short interlude where I plug in my other fanfics! Although I know a good chunk of you are repeat readers who came here from my profile probably. Anyways you should go read Take Me By the Hand! It's a fanfic where I actually give Kairi a personality and let her have meaningful relationships with other people! Just a one shot but better than what Nomura has been doing, right? 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading this chapter! Don't forget that comments are the only food they give me trapped down here in the basement where I do my dark bidding and write until they let me take a bathroom break. Kudos also appreciated of course! See you next chapter, mayhaps!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hesitance and a will to conform to societal standards was Ventus' saving grace. Good thing he threw both those things out the window personally or else this wouldn't be working nearly as well.

Breakfast was awkward. Terra and Aqua had both gently prodded at Ventus about the screams they heard from his room that morning to which he boldly lied that he had been having a nightmare. They gave him sympathetic looks and shared a glance between themselves before they all lapsed into silence. 

 

Despite Aqua being the one to make the blueberry waffles, Ventus found that they still remained flavorless. He chewed them carefully and kept his gaze on the table. Terra would occasionally stare at him as if he had something to say before looking away pointedly and sighing to himself. This continued for some time before Aqua put a hand on his shoulder and murmured something to him that Ventus was too spaced out to register. 

 

“Thank you for breakfast.” Ventus said softly as he stood to dispose of his plate. Aqua nodded silently and watched him go to the sink, running water over his dishes before leaving them and departing. 

 

He could hear them whispering the second he left the kitchen. 

 

There was a detour to take a shower, first and foremost. Ventus could tell that Vanitas’ scent was starting to rub off on him. He _really_ didn’t need to smell like blood all the time. He locked the bathroom door behind him and disrobed, examining the fading marks in his torso where he’d been stuck by Vanitas’ nails. 

 

He scrubbed himself raw and then some. His skin was already pink from how hot he’d turned the water up and the thorough washing left him looking like he had a sunburn. He didn’t bother washing his hair as intensively as he had his body, giving it a quick shampoo and not much else. Ventus ended up drip drying, head leaned against the shower wall as he stared at the bath faucet and thought about going back to his room. 

 

Dry and frankly bored of staring at the bathroom fixtures, Ventus finally wrapped a towel around his waist and trekked to his room with his dirty clothes in tow. When he entered he was almost unsurprised to see several Floods in his room. It was significantly less than last time and Vanitas was in the process of squishing them in his bare hands. Lips tightening into a line, Ventus let it happen and went to his dresser. 

 

He pushed a Flood away, watching it topple clumsily off the top of the dresser and to the ground where Vanitas pounced on it and tore it in half with a low growl and hiss. Ventus couldn’t help the expression that crept on his face. He’d never actually seen Vanitas kill his own Unversed before. It was… Weird, to say the least. He was doing it unprompted though. It meant less work for Ventus to do in the end. 

 

“Can you… I don’t know. Cover your face or something? Sit in a corner?” Vanitas was squatting in the middle of the room panting, head lowered and mouth hanging ajar. There were several ropes of drool sliding over his teeth and Ventus made a mental note to make sure to wipe that up later. 

 

“Seriously, I don’t care-- turn around? I don’t want you watching me get dressed.” Despite the knowledge that Vanitas had essentially been _him_ at some point, it didn’t make it any less awkward and creepy to have him watching him get dressed. He was not high on the list of people Ventus was comfortable with seeing him naked. Vanitas grunted and started to slink towards the bed before Ventus threw a shirt at him. 

 

“ _Not under the bed._ Just cover your eyes!” Vanitas whined before following instructions in some sort of begrudging manner, holding his long palms before his eyes and huffing. Ventus dressed quickly, folding the towel once he was done. 

 

“Okay, I’m done.” Vanitas quickly dropped his hands and settled into something resembling a seated position. He folded his hands over his knees and licked his teeth twice before settling his chin onto his knuckles. Ventus inspected him shrewdly and tried to figure out just how bad it was that this was starting to seem normal. It had only been what? Two days? Maybe his capacity to deal with bullshit was just higher than he thought it was. 

 

“Terra and Aqua heard you, you know.” Vanitas didn’t respond or so much as move. Ventus settled onto the floor as well and crossed his legs. 

 

“I lied to them… I told them I had a nightmare. I guess it’s not that far off. You are pretty nightmare-ish.” He laughed blandly as his own joke. Vanitas was still uncharacteristically silent. Ventus shifted in discomfort and frowned. 

 

“What I’m getting at… is I don’t like lying to them. So if we could keep the screaming to a minimum?... That’d be great.” Vanitas finally moved, jaw unhinging as he let out a low throaty sound. Again the facial expression Ventus made was involuntary. Vanitas continued making the noise, jaw moving in a grotesque mockery of speech. Eventually he shut up and uncurled, crawling around before finding what he had apparently been looking for. 

 

When the pad of paper was slid his way, Ventus was hesitant to take it. Mainly because it was a bit damp. He picked it up eventually anyways. There was only a couple of legible words, although Vanitas had written quite a bit. The ones he could make out were ‘hurts’, ‘kill’, and ‘bastard’. Very eloquent. 

 

“You need to work on your penmanship.” Ventus murmured monotonously, tossing the pad back to Vanitas. He merely ran his hands over his face in a gesture like exasperation, gurgling from low in his throat and crawling over. He stopped in front of Ventus, pressed down to the ground. He stayed there which surprised Ventus. He’d expected unwanted physical contact but apparently Vanitas had learned his lesson already. That had to be the quickest he’d ever done so. He was notoriously bullheaded after all. 

 

The knock on the door made them both freeze.

 

“Ventus? May I come in?” It was Aqua. Polite as ever too. Ventus stared at Vanitas and was stared at in turn. There was several vital seconds before they both leapt into action. Ventus quickly started to clear evidence of Vanitas’ existence while Vanitas himself darted under the bed like his life depended on being in its vicinity. 

 

“Come in!” Ventus called out. He threw the now drool covered towel away haphazardly and flopped onto his bed. Aqua opened the door almost immediately. She was trying to smile but her expression showed only concern. The silence had lasted a second too long and Ventus knew that. 

 

“Hey, Ven. I just wanted to check in on you; You didn’t seem quite yourself at breakfast… We just wanted you to know that if there’s anything bothering you--”

 

“I’m okay.” He blurted. Aqua blinked. He smiled hard and tried to ignore the fact Vanitas was very subtly making the mattress move. Aqua sighed softly and looked around Ventus room. After a moment she walked over, expression slowly morphing the closer she got to Ventus bed. She stopped a couple feet away, nose wrinkled and brow furrowed. 

 

“...” They both stared at each other. Ventus’ mind was running a mile a minute but was filled with totally incomprehensible thoughts about escaping out the window and moving to Fiji. Aqua made her next choice carefully. 

 

“Ven, you know that Terra and I love you… Right?” If there was any testament to the truth of that statement is was the fact this was happening right now. He gave a stressed little laugh and nodded, sitting up. 

 

“Of course. I love you guys too. More than anything.” Aqua was still frowning. Ventus silently willed her to leave and quickly, before he had to try and come up with some bogus excuse for something he simply wouldn’t be able to lie away. She conceded eventually, after shuffling in place for a couple seconds. She seemed as relieved to get away from Vanitas as Ventus was to have her away from him. If only she knew that it was Vanitas she was fleeing from and not just a very suspicious and worrying smell. 

 

On second thought, Ventus was glad she wasn’t aware.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aqua and Terra mean well but really how do you even begin to talk about some of this stuff. Hey Ventus! Your room smells like a butcher shop! What the fuck! Although letting Aqua say fuck is VERY tempting now that I think about it...
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways! You know the drill! Kudos appreciated, comments aspired for, and if you have a pal who might be interested in such shenanigans as are seen in this fic don't be shy to link them! I've consumed SO much coffee! My hands are shaking! Yeehaw! Thanks for reading!


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